John Q

James Kearns

Sujets

• Crime
• Dráma
• Thriller

Informations

• Publié par: script-cinema
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2002
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• Licence : En savoir +
  Paternité, pas d'utilisation commerciale, partage des conditions initiales à l'identique
• Langue: English

Extrait

"John Q." --

ON BLACK:

If I didn't have enough money, I'd be dead right now.

- Carroll Shelby

FADE IN:

EXT. TWO-LANE HIGHWAY - DAY

Mancini's "Ave Maria" fills the screen as a white BMW speeds along the road.

CREDITS ROLL

A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN is behind the wheel. We never see her face. Hanging from the mirror is a rosary with a crucifix. Her porcelain hand turns up the volume and the music swells. A silver bracelet dangles from her wrist.

EXT. TWO-LANE HIGHWAY - CONTINUOUS

A slow-moving semi obstructs her path. The woman leans out the window to see if the road is clear before moving into the oncoming lane. She steps on the gas. She's in the wrong lane and can't get over. There are headlights in the distance and the moan of an airhorn is heard.

EXT. TWO-LANE HIGHWAY - CONTINUOUS

Suddenly, the headlights are upon her. And airhorn blasts and she's trapped between two monstrous big rigs. She cuts the wheel hard, but too late. The oncoming truck clips her, sending her car end over end.

SLO-MO

The accident is violent and horrible. The BMW cartwheels along the highway in a grotesque ballet of destruction. The music crescendos and sparks fly as the car skids along the pavement on its roof. And as the BMW violently smashes headfirst into the embankment, the beautiful woman is slammed into the windshield like a crash-test dummy.

EXT. MIDDLE AMERICAN TOWN - PRE-DAWN

The indigo horizon shimmers with the first light of morning. Vapor spewing smokestacks dwarf brick and mortar homes. Dairy Queens, Hardee's, and Walmarts line the main drag. Stars and Stripes flutter from lampposts.

INT. ARCHIBALD HOUSE - BEDROOM - MORNING

A man sits propped up against pillows, his sleeping wife snuggled next to him. His name is JOHN QUINCY ARCHIBALD. His strong, handsome face is beginning to show wear and tear. From across the room, last night's news broadcast drones on the TV. The President is telling everybody how wonderful the country is doing.

JOHN Q. watches impassively, the irony not lost on him. Suddenly, he hears a noise. Something's not right. He jumps out of bed, wearing only a pair of BVDs.

WIFE

Honey, what is it?

EXT. ARCHIBALD HOUSE - MORNING

The screen door bangs open. John Q. bursts onto the porch to find a tow truck parked in front of his house. TWO TRUCKERS are winching a hook and cable to a ten year old Chevy.

J.Q.

Hey, what the hell are you doing?

TOW TRUCK DRIVER #1 What does it look like?

J.Q.

Aw, come on. That's my car.

TOW TRUCK DRIVER #1 Yeah? That's not what the bank says.

The truckers quickly circle to the front and hop in. John Q. just watches as the truck speeds away, dragging the car along the cement.

The neighbors now stand on their porches, staring. J.Q. turns to see his wife, DENISE, standing in the doorway. She's not a happy camper.

Their nine year old son, MIKE, appears at his mother's side, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

MIKE

What's going on?

INT. ARCHIBALD HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING

CLOSE ON a hand circling want-ads in red ink. J.Q. sits at the kitchen table drinking a half-filled cup of coffee, his eyes scouring the classifides.

Denise enters, dressed in her brown and red supermarket cashier's uniform. Without speaking, she passes J.Q. and starts making breakfast.

J.Q.

Sorry.

Denise doesn't respond. A chill fills the air.

J.Q. (CONT'D)

I talked to the bank. They promised they'd work with me.

DENISE

Okay.

J.Q.

I did.

DENISE

John, that was two months ago.

J.Q.

We've got enough money for next month's rent. That's it. It was either the car or the house, so I thought...

DENISE

You thought.

J.Q.

What did you want me to do? Have us put out on the street? I'm down to twenty hours a week a the plant. They shipped off half the damn jobs down to Mexico.

DENISE

My car is gone, John.

J.Q.

You know I'm out there trying to find a second job.

DENISE

What do you want me to say? That it's fine? Alright, it's fine.

J.Q.

The car's still ours, Denise. We own it. All we have to do is wait two weeks until my check comes in.

Mike enters dressed for school. He strikes a body builder's pose, flexing.

MIKE

Yah! Ronnie Coleman, Mr. Olympics two years running. Yah!

He moves to the bread box and grabs a donut.

DENISE

Sit down, honey. Eat some breakfast.

MIKE

(mouthful of food) I am eating.

J.Q.

A donut isn't breakfast.

MIKE

Yeah it is. It's a continental breakfast.

J.Q.

Yeah, well, you're not a continent right now.

MIKE

Uh, Dad, what do you call North America?

Denise sets down two plates of hot food.

DENISE

Enough about that. You're not going to school without breakfast. Now eat. Both of you.

Mike and John Q. wolf down their food three bites at a time.

MIKE

I can't believe those jerks took our car, can you, Mom?

Denise gives J.Q. the hairy eyeball.

DENISE

No, I can't.

MIKE

What are we going to do? You're not going to do something, right, Dad? You know what I'd do? I'd get so big and mad, I'd just go crazy and kick someone's butt.

J.Q.

Watch your language.

MIKE

I would. I swear. When I grow up I'll be so strong no one will ever take nothing from us.

J.Q.

You've been watching too much of that W.W. wrestling.

MIKE

Not wrestling, Dad. Body building. There's a big difference.

DENISE

Alright, alright. Get your books. You're going to be late.

Mike runs out of the room. Denise starts to clear the table.

DENISE (CONT'D)

Give me a ride to work?

J.Q.

Sure.

J.Q. takes her arm.

J.Q. (CONT'D)

Baby, things will get better. I promise. I've just got to get a few paychecks ahead, that's all.

INT. COMPUTER ROOM - SOMEWHERE IN AMERICA - NIGHT

An amber light flashes through the darkness, followed by a rapid buzzing sound. The CAMERA PUSHES IN on a mammoth-sized printer, furiously pounding letters onto a fact sheet. We catch glimpses of peoples' names, hometowns, other vital information. Vernell Tilson, Des Moines. Arthur Friedlander, Jefferson City. Amy Podgorsky, Topeka.

INT. JOHN Q.'S TRUCK - DAY

John, Denise and Mike. Denise in the middle. John and Mike are playing Speedy Gonzalez. The object of the game is to pick something and then say it so fast it's almost indecipherable. Mike's got a good one.

MIKE

Rdshxshn.

J.Q.

Reddish Stick?

MIKE

No. Rdshxshn.

J.Q.

Radishes?

MIKE

Rdshxshn.

J.Q.

I swear to God, I'm hearing reddish stick.

MIKE

It's a radio station.

J.Q.

Oh, brother. You got me.

It's Dad's turn.

J.Q. (CONT'D)

Ydugskew.

MIKE Yogurt and stew?

J.Q.

Yogurt and Stew?

MIKE

Well, I don't know. Do it again.

J.Q.

Ydugskew.

MIKE

I give up.

J.Q.

You're going to school.

MIKE

Dad!

J.Q.

Okay. One more.

It's the longest one in history.

J.Q. (CONT'D)

Iplglgnstheflgvthntdstscvmrcndthrpblcfw chtstndsnntnndrgdndvsblewithlbrtyndjstc rll.

Mike gives him a look.

J.Q. (CONT'D)

Pledge of allegiance.

MIKE

Wow. That's a good one. How about you, Mom?

DENISE

I don't want to play. You guys always make fun of me.

MIKE

Come on, Mom. It's fun.

J.Q.

Yeah, Mom.

DENISE

Okay.

Mom's not very good. You can always understand her clearly.

DENISE (CONT'D)

Dashboard.

The boys giggle.

DENISE (CONT'D)

What? No good? Okay. Okay. Hold on.

She tries to be tricky, but still it's clear as a bell.

DENISE (CONT'D)

Antenna.

The boys laugh at her.

DENISE (CONT'D)

See. That's why I don't play.

The car stops in front of the small, red brick elementary school. Kids everywhere. Mike kisses his mother goodbye.

EXT. THOMAS EDISON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - DAY

John walks Mike to the gate. Mike turns, serious.

MIKE

Hey, Dad? I've got forty-six dollars I saved from my allowance. You can have it if you want.

J.Q.

Yeah?

MIKE

We're a family. We've got to stick together, right?

John rubs his son's head. He's a good boy.

J.Q.

Right. But you earned that money. You keep it.

Mike runs toward the schoolhouse.

MIKE

Okay. See you later!

J.Q.

Goodbye.

Mike turns around.

MIKE

No, Dad. See you later. I hate goodbye.

J.Q.

Okay, okay. See you later.

Mike does the crab before running inside.

MIKE

Flex Wheeler, 275 pounds. Two percent body fat. Yah!

INT. NEIMAN MACHINERY PLANT - DAY

Sparks. Fire. Goggles. Tires as tall as two-story buildings. John Q. and his best friend, JIMMY PALUMBO, work the assembly line. John holds a giant riveter.

INT. NEIMAN MACHINERY PLANT - EMPLOYEE LOCKER ROOM - DAY

Quitting time. Employees are showering, towling down, changing. John Q. is putting on a tie.

JIMMY

What's the deal with the jacket? Who died?

EXT. NEIMAN MACHINERY PLANT - DAY

Cement and huge. Smoke billows from the stacks. John Q. and Jimmy make their way to their trucks.

J.Q.

I've got a job interview at the machinery plant over in Otisville.

JIMMY

What job? There are no jobs.

J.Q.

I saw it in the paper.

JIMMY

Forget it.

J.Q.

I've got to go. Denise is going to kill me if I don't find something. They repo'd her car this morning.

JIMMY

Oh, boy. You want me to go with you?

INT. OTISVILLE MACHINERY PLANT - WAITING AREA - DAY

The waiting room is packed. A lot of people needing work. John fills out the application.

JIMMY

This is a waste of time. Four hundred people for one job. Give me a break.

John keeps filling out his paperwork.

JIMMY (CONT'D)

I'm telling you, somebody's son, cousin, uncle has already got this job sewn up.

J.Q.

Jimmy, why do they put it in the paper if they're not hiring?

JIMMY

They've got to put it in the paper to make it look good. State law or something.

J.Q.

Give it a rest, will you?

JIMMY

I'm just saying, it's the run around. Mark my words. It's either, 'We'll keep your application on file.' That's the kiss of death. Or they tell you that you're overqualified. Either way, you're screwed.

A PERSONNEL MANAGER emerges from his office and reads from a clipboard.

PERSONNEL MANAGER

John Archibald?

INT. OTISVILLE MACHINERY PLANT - PERSONNEL OFFICE - DAY

John Q. sits across the desk from the P.M.

J.Q.

I've been working heavy machinery for fifteen years. I really want this job. Whatever you need, I can do.

PERSONNEL MANAGER

I see.

J.Q.

Hey, I could start today.

John Q. laughs nervously as the P.M. reviews his application.

PERSONNEL MANAGER

Your resume is very impressive. You've certainly got the experience. Frankly, you might be overqualified.

John Q. gets the message. He pushes his chair back and starts to get up.

INT. COMPUTER ROOM - SOMEWHERE IN AMERICA - NIGHT

The daisy wheel buzzsaws across the page. WE SEE more names, columns, entitled STATUS, ENTRY DATE. Underneath the Entry Date heading, months and days appear: June 19, April 30. February 6.

INT. ALL SAINTS CHURCH - DAY

Sunday services. The congregation sings. In the third row, Mike elbows his Dad.